


Month of the Ship Collection

by Dieced



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: M/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-12-31 23:42:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18324338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dieced/pseuds/Dieced
Summary: A collection of my entries for the Month of the Ship prompt challenge on tumblr.





	1. Day 1 Asking Out

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Month of the Ship everyone! Some context for this is needed. A while back, just after the start of the Ixalan story, I came up with my own AU ending for the story, which involved Jace and Gideon developing feelings for each other. My AU ending got a few things right, like Jace regaining all his lost memories of childhood, but was largely way off the mark. I might rewrite it someday to work with the cannon, but it would need some serious reworking, because it got very dark in some points, way darker than anything I feel like writing out. But the ending was happy, and it makes for a good setting for me to write my Month of the Ship entries in. So a few mentions of my AU Ixalan will pop up here and there, but I’m intentionally keeping it vague so I can rewrite it someday. All that you need to know is that Jace went through a physical trauma of sorts and had to rely on the Gatewatch for help and support in the aftermath.

Months ago, Gideon would have startled when he felt Jace's mind brush against his own unexpectedly, but as of late, the sensation had become incredibly familiar. This time it was a simple image of a secluded private garden towards the rear of Jace's home; an invitation.

The walk was short, and when he arrived Jace was already there, seated at the lone patio table and fussing with a tea set.

“Hey Gideon. Have a seat, I'll just be a moment. I knocked over the darn tea leaves.”

Gideon sat opposite him, watching as Jace salvaged what loose tea leaves he could back into their bag, then swept the rest into his hand, turning and dumping them into a flowerbed. “Tea is good for plants, right? Nissa's not going to be mad at me for that?”

“It's a plant itself, so I'm pretty sure it's fine.”

Jace nodded and set about filling the infuser at last. “Thanks for coming down. I was hoping we could have tea and talk for a bit, if you have time.”

“Of course.” Watching how focused Jace was with the tea, clearly trying to avoid eye contact without seeming rude about it, Gideon had a suspicion why Jace wanted to talk, but he asked anyway, “So, what's on your mind?”

Jace glanced up briefly, gauging his expression, then back down to the teapot, setting it aside to infuse. “I wanted to talk about... uhm, well... about, y'know, us.” He busied himself with looking down at a napkin, unfolding and refolding it.

“Aha.” Score one for Gideon's instincts. “Yes, I feel that's something we should talk about too. Us. Changes to our relationship recently, I suppose.” Gideon took a tea biscuit and leaned back in his chair, gazing around the garden. “I'm honestly unsure of where to start. Was there anything you wanted to say?”

Jace snorted. “Wanted? Are you kidding me? I mean, I know we need to talk, but needing something and wanting to do it are two entirely different things. Heck, I'd have put this off longer if Chandra weren't dropping not-so-subtle hints that she'll melt me if I wait any more.”

Gideon leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table, grinning broadly. “She really doesn't have any patience for people avoiding the obvious, does she? I'm sure she'd melt both of us.”

“Probably,” Jace laughed quietly. He finally set down the napkin and faced Gideon directly. “It is pretty obvious though, isn't it? You and I?”

“We've developed feelings for each other.”

There was a beat of silence after Gideon finally said it out loud. Then the tension broke and Jace let out a breath of air, relief plain on his face. “Yeah. I guess we have.” He reached for the teapot finally, checking how well it had steeped and, finding it satisfactory, poured them each a cup. Gideon took his straight away to drink, watching with amusement as Jace added an unhealthy amount of sugar to his own cup.

They sat in silence for a time, each busy with their own thoughts. Gideon was halfway through his tea when Jace finally asked, “So, what now?

Gideon opened his mouth, paused, thought a moment, then said, “What indeed?”

“Do we start dating?”

“Do you want to?”

“I...” Jace set his cup down and leaned back, scratching the back of his head. “Yes and no, I suppose.”

Gideon willed himself not to react yet, motioning for Jace to continue.

Jace leaned further back, gazing up at the sky, gathering himself. This was something he'd had plenty of time to think about, but he often couldn't put his thoughts into words.

“It's been a hard time for me lately, with everything we've all gone through. The rest of the Gatewatch have been so patient and kind to me. I honestly didn't expect it, and I still don't feel like I deserved it. But you especially, Gideon. You've been there for me in a way no-one else has. It means-” Jace's breath hitched, and he closed his eyes. “It means so much to me. I'd be dead right now if it weren't for you, I know that for sure.

“I know I like you. But I'm worried about how I came to like you. I don't trust my emotional state right now. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but my fear is that I like you _because_ you were there for me, and not because of who you are. I mean, who you are is the kind of person who would be there for me, I suppose. I don't know, I don't think that's the case, but I've been second-guessing myself over this a lot. Like I said, this probably doesn't make sense.”

Jace rubbed his eyes, hunching forward. “I haven't had the best of luck with relationships in the past. I'm not in a great state of mind, and I don't want to mess this up. If I'm wrong about my feelings, I don't want to hurt you.”

He stayed hunched over for a while, eyes shut and breathing deeply. He had just told Gideon that his feelings might only be circumstantial, and it made him feel sick.

“I trust you,” Gideon said.

Jace hadn't been expecting that response, and he could only reply, “What?”

“I trust you.” Gideon moved both their drinks aside and leaned closer, elbows on the table. “This might be overly optimistic on my part, but I trust that your feelings are real. I also trust that your worries aren't over nothing, but we can work through that.” Gideon reached forward his hand, and when Jace didn't move away, he placed it on his shoulder. “I care about you a lot. I want this. I want a relationship with you, and I want to keep helping you.”

Jace stared at him a moment, then shook his head, smiling. He placed his hand over Gideon's, squeezing slightly. “I don't know how you can trust me so easily, when you know so little about me.”

Gideon took Jace's hand and drew it between them on the table, clasping it with both of his own. He smiled encouragingly and said, “Then let's fix that.”

 


	2. Day 2 First Date

The warmth from Gideon's smile was infectious, and combined with his gentle hold of Jace's hand, he felt his heart beating faster. He was still unused to such a casual physical touch, but he didn't dislike it. Still, he was so focused on the sensation that it took Jace a few moments longer than he would have liked to respond.

“It's not that I don't want you to know more about me, really. But it's not that easy. There are things that are hard for me to talk about; things that I barely understand. Some stuff I don't even remember, and the parts that I do...” Jace trailed off, running his free hand over his face. “I've done some not-so-great things in my life. I'm different now. Well, I'm trying to be, at least. But that almost makes it harder, knowing how wrong I was, you know?”

“I do know.” Gideon stood up and circled around the table, keeping a comforting hold of Jace's hand and coming to kneel beside him. “Honestly, I understand what you're feeling. I've done some not-so-great things myself. It's hard to face my past, much less tell others about it. But let's not focus on that right now.”

Gideon released Jace's hand and scooted back to sit at the edge of a patch of manicured grass, circling a small decorative tree. “You've traveled the multiverse quite a lot, right? Tell me about somewhere you've visited.” Gideon patted the ground beside him.

Jace stared a moment, then came over to sit cross-legged beside him. “Well, there is one plane that stands out. I can't tell you what it's called, because none of the locals I met knew a name for the entire plane, but the entire world is covered in shallow rivers.”

“Like a canal system?”

“Essentially yes, but it's all natural. But they do use it like a canal system. Their entire society is built around these rivers, and they've developed some truly unique methods of transportation. But that's not the best part.” Jace allowed himself to stretch out, leaning back on his hands. “Most of the settlements are scattered about, so there are these big empty stretches that you can travel for hours without seeing anyone. And in some areas, the rivers are so still that their reflection becomes perfectly smooth, like glass. It's almost disorienting, like if it weren't for the shores, you'd forget which is the sky and which is the water.”

“It sounds beautiful.”

“It really is. I'll have to take you there someday, when I can afford the time to spend a few days traveling.” Gideon had laid out completely on the grass, hands crossed behind his head, while listening to Jace describe the plane. It felt only too natural for Jace to lay down beside him, gazing up at the swirling clouds overhead. “What about yourself? Any interesting planes you've come across?”

There were, and so Gideon described them as best he could. He and Jace took turns, sharing memories of their favourite places across the multiverse. And when Jace faltered, trying to think of a plane that didn't have too many bad memories associated with it, Gideon filled the silence with a story instead. He told Jace about his time with the Boros, and when an unfortunate series of misunderstandings had lead to an entire squadron of armed soldiers charging in on a poor couple on their honeymoon. And Jace, after wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, offered a story in return of several Azorius law mages and high judges arguing and yelling for hours, almost coming to blows, over a simple trade contract and the definition of the word “shall.”

When the clouds shifted and the sun came to shine in their eyes, they both moved under the small patch of shade provided by the small tree, and Gideon took Jace's hand again as he launched into a tale of an unfortunate tree elemental that had stepped on a goblin from the Izzet and exploded, covering an entire street in tree sap, and Gideon had been involved in the damage control. And Jace told another story from his experiences with the Azorius, this time about a land rezoning application he had overseen between a very cross store owner, and an unexpectedly sentient patch of road.

Without either of them noticing, hours began to pass. Conversation shifted from stories, to remembered places, back to stories again, topics coming naturally and comfortably. When the sky darkened, Gideon remarked that he never could get used to how the light pollution on Ravnica made it impossible to see stars, so Jace waved a hand and painted the air around them with constellations, telling the stories of each one and what it meant on the plane it came from.

When night truly came and hunger called them back inside, Jace gathered up their cold forgotten tea, and Gideon came with him to the kitchen, scavenging together some leftovers for them while Jace cleaned and put away the tea set. The awkward start to their meeting seemed so long ago, and the silence between them now as they ate was comfortable. And although neither said it out loud, each considered to themselves that the afternoon had, perhaps, just been a first date of sorts. And it would, almost certainly, happen again.

 


End file.
